News

On September 14, Sonos, Inc., the company whose well-designed">http://www.stereophile.com/mediaservers/1006sonos">well-designed wireless Controller adorns the cover of our October issue, announced the release of its Sonos System Software 2.0. John Atkinson and I rode to the 11th floor of Manhattan's glitzy Trump International Hotel and Tower, overlooking Central Park's brilliant canopy of green trees, to meet with Sonos co-founder Thomas Cullen and CEO John MacFarlane for a brief demonstration.

On Saturday, September 30, Ayre Acoustics founder and president Charlie Hansen sustained serious injuries while bicycling in the foothills near his Colorado home. Hansen is currently recovering in Boulder Community Hospital ICU, following surgery.

New Naims: At CEDIA 2006, Naim introduced two new products to the North American market: the $1500 NAC122x preamplifier and the $5750 n-Vi all-in-one home entertainment system (DVD-CD player/processor/five-channel amplifier).

On September 26, Sirius Satellite Radio announced the availability of the $350 Stiletto 100, "the company's first live portable radio, featuring WIFI, Yahoo music purchasing software, and the ability to save music subscribers love for playback later."

After a series of unforeseen delays, for which we apologize, the CD of Robert Silverman's performance of Beethoven's monumental work for solo piano, the Diabelli Variations (Variations, STPH017-2), is available for purchase from our e-commerce">http://ssl.blueearth.net/primedia/home.php">e-commerce page today, Monday, October 2.

Telarc, Classic Records, AIX, Cisco Music, Elusive Disc, Reference Recordings, and M•A Recordings have all pulled out of CES 2007, citing new restrictions on sales of merchandise that they feel to be unacceptable. Chesky remains undecided. Music Direct, May Audio, and Acoustic Sounds will exhibit, but will not sell product. Only 5.1 Marketing and Sales is currently committed to selling music.

The Philadelphia Orchestra, one of America's prestigious "Big Five" orchestras, has established its own digital">http://www.thephiladelphiaorchestra.com/">digital online music store to directly market its soundboard recordings of current Philadelphia Orchestra performances.

We all know the refrain. Classical music is losing its audience. With shorter attention spans, the ascent of the iPod, a penchant for music (and spoken word masquerading as music) in the background, and the submergence of audio by home theater, fewer and fewer people in the United States are being exposed to art music of the past and present.

Peter Zylberberg of Audio Excellence in Yorkville, Toronto sends along the following warning:

Even though the calendar year starts January 1 (or, if you're in the electronics industry, with the January CES), many of us still think of Labor Day as the beginning of the year. That's when school always started—or, again if you're in the electronics industry, the week after is when CEDIA's (Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association) Expo takes place. As the show has grown over the years, it has also become the kick-off to the important (and, hopefully, lucrative) end-of-the-year sales season, with many companies debuting significant products they hope will make their Q4 profitable.